Media Circus
by FieryArtemis
Summary: Victor is getting tired of the way reporters only seem to care about his return to competitive skating and not about his talented husband and trainee. The reporters are getting tired of Victor's inability to answer questions seriously without mentioning Yuri Katsuki. One rookie reporter finds a happy medium.


"Martins!" screamed Kara's boss. She winced involuntarily at the shrill sound and physically shrunk in her seat when he slammed the print copy of the article down on her desk.

"Something wrong sir?" she asked with a thin smile.

"How is it, tell me, that I send you out to cover the 2017 Grand Prix Finals and Victor Nikiforov's return to skating and you write me a piece like _this_?" he snapped.

"You don't like it?" Kara said knowing full well he absolutely did not like it. Not even in the slightest.

"This isn't even remotely close to the piece that I asked you to write."

"About that sir…" Kara let lose a nervous laugh. "I did tell you that the interview didn't go exactly as planned so…"

"When you said that it didn't go as planned I thought you meant that Nikiforov's answers were dull and boring and not… not…"

She shrugged, "The question is, sir, in what universe in Victor Nikiforov ever dull or boring?"

"I don't need your lip Martins." he growled. Kara immediately pressed her mouth shut. He picked the article up and read in a painfully terse voice, "'The only thing Nikiforov seems to like talking about more than his triumphant return to a decorated figure skating career is his husband's, Yuri Katsuki, dazzling career.' This entire article reads like a friggin' love letter."

"Shoulda seen the way he looked at him too."

"Not helping Martins."

"Sir, I wrote the article I could given the circumstances. I can guarantee that no one else has an article like ours… mine."

"Probably for good reason. This reads like a trashy…"

"Boss! You gotta see this." another reporter said, bursting around the corner and throwing a tablet in their boss's face. The unhealthy shade of purple faded to a less distressing color and his jaw practically hit the ground.

"How is this even possible?" he sputtered. He looked up at Kara and then back down at the screen. She suddenly had the feeling that she ought to clear out her desk. "Nikiforov personally commented on it."

Her hopes of having a job through the end of the day were quickly fading. Her jaw dropped too when her boss turned the tablet towards her.

X X X

A few days before…

"Victor! Victor!" the sea of reporters called for Victor's attention at the entrance of the stadium. Flashes of light went off incessantly. Victor stopped abruptly to face them. Yuri did his best not to cry out as his arm was nearly yanked out of socket. As he turned to face the reporters and cameras, he wished that he'd taken Victor's offer on letting him borrow a pair of sunglasses. Clearly, that had been a mistake.

"Hello! Are you all enjoying the weather?" Victor asked brightly. He also gave an endearing wave to the assembled reporters. There was a reason that reporters and fans from all over the world loved Victor Nikiforov and this was a part of it. Yuri felt like melting away into the shadows to let the sunshine part of their marriage soak up the spotlight. Even after all the time he'd been competing, reporters still unnerved him. His philosophy happened to be if they weren't asking him any direct questions then he wasn't needed or expected to be around. He said stupid things when he was in front of a camera. Unfortunately, Victor didn't follow the same belief as he. Victor knew him too well and had a firm grip on his hand to keep him from bolting. Yuri felt the pad of Victor's thumb roll over the back of his hand soothingly.

There was a flurry of hurried responses to Victor's friendly question before all the reporters charged into asking questions at once. "How does it feel to be back on the ice?"

"Did you expect to have such a successful comeback?"

"What's been the most challenging aspect of returning to the competition as a skater?"

"Does being a coach as well as competitor add any extra stress?"

Yuri's head rang from the rapid fire questions that they all shot at Victor. Victor for his part smiled as though he'd caught every single one when in reality he'd only managed to pick out the very first one that had been yelled out. "Being back on the ice is like a homecoming. I forgot how much I missed it. It seems sweeter this time around because this time I get to share it with Yuri."

There went Yuri's blush reflex. "Victor, I'm sure that's not what they want to hear." he mumbled. The look on Victor's face made it clear that he really didn't care.

"Victor! What are you looking forward to the most during the Grand Prix Final?"

"Can we expect to see you break any records?"

"What are you the most worried about? Any concerns?"

All the reporters shoved their microphones in Victor's face. Once more, Yuri found himself wondering just how much practice and poise Victor had. He didn't seem to react at all. Not a flinch or a look of any sort. The few times the reporters had done that to him the only reason Yuri hadn't scuttled under a rock was because Victor was standing right behind him to pull him back protectively. Instead Victor kept on smiling as he answered the only question he'd actually managed to remember in the barrage. "I guess the thing I'm most worried about is Yuri and I will skate to close together and one of us won't be able to be in the Kiss and Cry with the other."

Yuri dragged his hand down his face in a vain attempt to wipe the blush off his cheeks. That's when he caught sight of the reporters. More than a couple of them were frowning at Victor's answers. Not that he could say it really surprised him. It was Victor's first big competition since making his comeback. He'd swept the Rostelecom Cup and the Trophée de France with impressive and typical ease. In fact his gold medalling scores were so good that no one would've guessed he'd taken a season off if they hadn't already known. These reporters were hoping to hear an actual discussion of Victor's thoughts going into the Grand Prix Final.

"I think what Victor means to say is that there's a lot of really talented skaters here this year. Otabek Altin is here again and he has an ambitious program with three quads in his short program. Yuzuru Hanyu's also competing with a program just as outstanding. Minami Kenjirou is coming off a strong gold and silver medal finish in his qualifying rounds. Then there's Yurio… Yuri Plisetsky I mean who's been smashing records left and right. The competition is going to be challenging." Yuri rattled off quickly without being asked.

The reporters all turned to look at him. One started to form a question but he never got to hear it. "You're here too." Victor pouted. "You broke one of my records at last year's final. You won with one of the highest scores at this year's Skate Canada. Your program is almost as ambitious as everyone else. You're just as much a part of the challenging competition as the others."

"I know," Yuri nodded as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Victor, did you choreograph Yuri Katsuki's program again this year?"

Victor beamed. "I did and he skates it fantastically. I've never been more proud in my life. My husband's talented."

"Er… was it difficult putting together both your program and Yuri's?"

"It seems like it might have been a conflict of interest."

"Weren't you worried about putting yourself at a disadvantage because of it?"

"Why would I ever be worried about something like that?" Victor balked at the reporters. An awkward, brief silence ensued. Then a younger reporter stepped forward with her recorder.

"Victor would you say that your relationship with Yuri Katsuki has had a positive effect on your skating?" she asked before raising the recorder hesitantly.

"Yuri is my inspiration. He never ceases to surprise me and I have to make sure that I work just as hard to surprise him."

Victor squeezed Yuri's hand and shot him a loving look that made his stomach flip. Before he had any more time to think on it, the same reporter was throwing another question at them. For some reason her questions sounded a lot different than the other reporters' questions. What it was exactly, Yuri couldn't put his finger on. After a couple of minutes she and the other reporters thanked Victor. "I don't recognize you? What's your name and who do you write for?"

"Kara Martins. I write for the _Sportz+_." she answered, looking slightly nervous. She picked at the corner of her recorder. "I'm new."

"Well, I hope to see you around more often."

"Thanks."

X X X

"Hey Yuri?" Victor called from his position on the couch, looking up from his phone. He'd have gotten up but Makkachin was stretched out across his lap. It made for a warm lap but impossible mobility. Thankfully Yuri appeared in the room a moment later.

"Yeah?"

"Would it be too forward of me to demand that someone cater to my whims on how they run their business?"

Yuri sighed. "Please tell me that you're asking me that ironically."

"Why would you ever ask me that?" Victor said. He couldn't stop the giant smile from spreading across his face. "I'm being one hundred percent serious."

"Of course you are." Yuri mumbled shaking his head. Makkachin picked his head up off of Victor's lap and wagged his tail. Victor took the chance to shift his legs to make a place for Yuri to sit down.

"Do you remember that reporter who stopped us right before the Grand Prix Final?" he asked as Yuri sat down next to him.

"You'll have to be more specific. There were a lot of them all clumped around you asking you questions that you weren't interested in answering." Yuri replied.

"Everyone is always so dismissive of you even when you're standing right beside me. Asking me questions about whether or not I regret taking you on as a student while skating too."

Victor tried but ultimately failed to keep the anger out of his voice. Even when he'd just been coaching Yuri, his own career had taken spotlight away from him. Now that he was back to skating it had only gotten worse. Yuri skated just as well as everyone who'd been at the Final. He'd stood beside Victor on the Grand Prix podium with a silver medal and a career best score. The media still treated him as second fiddle. It was infuriating! Yuri reached out and grabbed his hand. It surprised him slightly and made some of his irritation dissipate. "Not one of those reporters ever asked you anything like that." Yuri reminded him easily.

"Maybe not directly." he muttered under his breath.

"Victor…"

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Just irritated is all. I'll get over it. Besides, not all the reporters are that terrible. Here. Read this. I think it deserves an award of some kind. It's from that reporter from _Sportz+_. Kara Martins."

Yuri took the phone from Victor and started scrolling to find the article. Victor sat back to wait, smile on his face. He estimated that Yuri made it only five sentences in before his adorable blush spread from his nose to his ears. "This is… this is… um… wow!"

"I know right!" Victor threw him a grin and shot forward to grab his phone back. He cleared his throat and read, "'Nikiforov openly calls Katsuki his muse. With both placing first and second with incredible scores, the proof is evident. Nobody can deny that Katsuki has had an immeasurable positive impact on his husband's skating.'"

"Yes, I… uh, I remember her now. I thought her questions were a bit weird. She seemed more interested about… um, how do I say it?"

"About _us_?" Victor supplied oh-so-helpfully. "About our partnership, skating and otherwise, has changed since I came back?"

Yuri turned an even brighter red. "It's so embarrassing."

"I love it and I'm gonna tweet it."

Victor gleefully started punching buttons to add his caption. 'Give this reporter a raise! Best article yet.' He made sure to send it directly to Phichit.


End file.
